By Dr Alon Ben-Meir* NEW YORK | 3 July 2026 (IDN) — As the United States marks its 250th anniversary—a testament to endurance, sacrifice, and democratic aspiration—it does so under a dark and foreboding shadow. At this defining moment, the nation finds itself led not by steadiness or vision, but by a figure whose erratic conduct, […]
From Utopia to Branding: What Happened to the Fairy Tale?
By Sam Ben-Meir* NEW YORK | 3 July 2026 (IDN) — Never has fantasy been more commercially successful. Yet it is not obvious that it has become more imaginative. Long before the rise of the modern novel, fairy tales provided generations of listeners and readers with images of transformation, justice, adventure, and hope. They offered something […]
Durable Solutions Must Be Defined by Those Who Live Them
By Shabnam Baloch The writer is the Country Director at Oxfam in South Sudan. JUBA, South Sudan | 2 July 2026 (IDN) — As experts gathered in New York earlier this month to discuss the future of the humanitarian landscape and durable solutions for displaced people, the conversations touched on linking humanitarian response to long-term […]
EEPA reports on crimes against humanity committed in El Fasher
BRUSSELS | 2 July 2026 (IDN | EEPA) — The following are the situation reports on Sudan, Ethiopia, Egypt cracking down of Sudanese refugees and TPLF denying claims of forced conscriptions. Migration and refugee situation (per 2 July) Egypt has reportedly intensified a crackdown on refugees from Sudan with reports of deaths in overcrowded jails, […]
Malawi Has No Coastline. We’re Fighting for The Ocean Anyway
By Dr George Chaponda The writer is the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Malawi. LILONGWE, Malawi | 1 July 2026 (IDN) — When Malawi became the first landlocked country to ratify the BBNJ Agreement, we affirmed a simple but powerful principle: stewardship of the global commons is a shared responsibility, not a […]
Whither the Law of the Sea?
By Jonathan Power LUND, Sweden | 1 July 2026 (IDN) — David Attenborough said in his wondrous documentary film, Ocean, that it had taken him a long time in his 99 years of life to understand that for the survival of our planet the oceans are more important than the land. This past four months, as […]
The US Occupation of the Indian Ocean ‘Zone of Peace’, the Next UNSG and the World’s First Woman Head of State
By Darini Rajasingham-Senanayake* COLOMBO, Sri Lanka | 30 June 2026 (IDN) — America’s war of choice on Iran has spread across the Indian Ocean World and maritime Silk Route. Starved of oil and gas, South and Southeast Asia’s emerging economies have seen their local currencies fall against the ‘exorbitantly privileged’ Petrodollar as public and private […]
The Ceasefire in Gaza: A Deadly Illusion
By Somar Wijayadasa* NEW YORK | 30 June 2026 (IDN) — The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has described the ongoing ceasefire in Gaza as a “cruel and deadly illusion” as Israel continues to attack the besieged enclave. “During a period supposedly defined by restraint and protection, a child has been killed, on average, every […]
EEPA reports on Heavy fighting in North Darfur
BRUSSELS | 29 June 2026 (IDN | EEPA) — The following are the situation reports on Sudan, Ethiopia, the EU visa restrictions on Somali nationals and Kenyan Human Rights Lawyer, Martha Karua, arrested and deported upon arrival in Entebbe on 22 June. Situation in Sudan (per 29 June) The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have launched […]
Food Security in Mozambique Begins with Empowered Coastal Communities
By Dr Atanasio Brito* MAPUTO, Mozambique | 28 June 2026 (IDN) — Mozambique’s Indian Ocean coastline is 1,500 miles (2,470 kilometres)—as long as the combined coastlines of France and Spain. With three out of five Mozambicans living near the water, fish and fishing play a central role in our diets and incomes—fish supplies 50% of […]